Prolusion.
The Finnish progressive rock appreciation and fan society COLOSSUS has been making a rather good name for itself in recent years, ever since it started issuing a line of project releases back in 2000. In collaboration with the legendary French record label Musea, more than a dozen concepts have been conceived, executed and issued. The first of these projects was named “Tuonen Tytar”, a double CD featuring tributes to various Finnish artists from the golden age of progressive rock. Come 2009 and the second instalment of this particular project, “Tuonen Tytar II” is at hand, a massive 3 CD box set, and as customary with a Colossus project production, a large, informative booklet, covering most aspects any fan would be curious about concerning the release in question - and then some.

Analysis.
When pointing out progressive rock artists that made a name for themselves in the ‘70s, bands hailing from Finland aren't too often mentioned by fans of progressive rock. In the golden age of the movement, this was a genre where artists from the United Kingdom, United States, Italy and France arguably got most of the attention. Which means that the merits and scope of this particular Colossus Project are twofold: to herald the great progressive rock of their homeland to those who know about them, as well as to introduce listeners unfamiliar with this particular musical legacy to the exploits of the artists from the land of a thousand lakes. As these are cover versions rather than a collection of the original tracks, one might assume that the purpose of that is to get a broader reach with this production, in addition to the fact that the artists involved are given a chance to pay tribute to some of their more or less unsung heroes. The most striking feature of the first chapter on this collection is the stylistic direction explored. Although individual differences obviously occur, it seems that most of these performers were involved in art rock of the symphonic variety. Many of the artists covered seem to have enjoyed quite a lot of Camel and Gentle Giant in particular, although traces of other ‘70s greats aren't uncommon either. None of the tracks on the first disc strike me as brilliant creations in themselves. Many are interesting beyond the scope of being nice ventures, though; Jinetes Negros and the artist with the peculiar name The Samurai Of Prog open the disc with two instances of just that, the former blending heavy art rock with dramatic symphonic bursts and some laid-back jazz-tinged passages on Nova's track Atlantis, while the latter has a neat cover of Wigwam's creation Colossus – a composition I presume the Colossus organization has a warm and heartfelt relation with. Kate's version of Tasavallan Presidentti's Last Quarters is another song worth mentioning – a lazy, laid-back venture evolving to quirkier, Gentle Giant inspired territories for the chorus segment. The other tracks don't come across as weak as such though: generally nice symphonic prog excursions with a distinct ‘70s flavor to them for obvious reasons. Fans of this stylistic expression, and in particular those who love the way it was explored back when prog equalled popular, should find lots of interesting stuff on this disc. Personally I find the covers by B612 and Tommy Eriksson to be the least inspired, while the others struck me as nice songs, but nothing more.

Conclusion.
For those who have a special interest in Finnish progressive rock, this massive compilation must be regarded as an essential purchase. And while not everyone is intrigued by projects featuring cover versions of and by various artists, “Tuonen Tytar II” does showcase how well such endeavors can be crafted. And for anyone who wants an introduction to the Finnish prog scene of yesteryear, the music alongside the extensive booklet should also mark this down as a production well worth acquiring. And while not all of the songs covered may be of interest, I gather most followers of vintage progressive rock would easily find two hours worth of material they would want to listen to extensively among the three hours supplied, which represents a fairly good value for money as I regard it.